“Best batsman in the world. But as a captain, he was lost” - Shoaib Akhtar’s big statement on Indian legend

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has opined that while he regards Sachin Tendulkar as the best batter in the world, the latter looked lost as captain. Akhtar went on to point out that Tendulkar also gave up the Indian captaincy as he felt the pressure.

The 47-year-old made the statement while discussing another former Indian captain, Virat Kohli. Tendulkar and Kohli are often compared because many cricket experts believe that they are among the two biggest match-winners with the bat that India has ever produced.

While sharing his views on Kohli recently, Akhtar also brought up the topic of Tendulkar’s captaincy. He told Bol News:

“See, I believe Sachin Tendulkar is the best batsman in the world. But as a captain, he was lost. He left the captaincy himself. I was talking to one of my friends about Virat Kohli, and we were discussing the same thing. He was lost, and when he works on his mind, he will perform. When his mind became free, he ruled the T20 World Cup."

Praising Kohli, he added that India used to win matches at one point because of the batter’s centuries. Akhtar continued:

"You also need to look that almost 40 centuries from Kohli came in run chases. Log kehte hain tum Virat ki bohot tareef karte ho, main kehta hu kaise naa karu? (People tell me that you praise Virat Kohli a lot. I just say, Why shouldn't I do that?) During one stage, India used to win because of Virat's hundreds."

Kohli is currently part of the Indian team for the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 against Australia. He has not had a good series so far, registering a highest score of 44 from five innings.

The 34-year-old has had a torrid time in Test cricket over the last couple of seasons. He hasn’t scored a half-century in the format since January 2022, when he smashed 79 against South Africa in Cape Town.

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Virat Kohli vs Sachin Tendulkar stats

Tendulkar is at the top of the list among the leading run-getters in international cricket. He scored 34357 runs in 664 matches across three formats of the game.

Kohli has so far scored 25047 runs in 493 matches. He recently became the fastest batter to score 25,000 runs in international cricket, breaking Tendulkar’s record.